createuser

Name

createuser -- define a new PostgreSQL user account

Synopsis

createuser [option...] [username]

Description

createuser creates a new
PostgreSQL user. Only superusers
(users with usesuper set in the
pg_shadow table) can create new
PostgreSQL users, so
createuser must be invoked by
someone who can connect as a PostgreSQL superuser.

Being a superuser also implies the ability to bypass access
permission checks within the database, so superuserdom should not
be granted lightly.

createuser is a wrapper
around the SQL command
CREATE USER. There
is no effective difference between creating users via this
utility and via other methods for accessing the server.

Options

createuser accepts the
following command-line arguments:

username

Specifies the name of the PostgreSQL user to be created. This
name must be unique among all PostgreSQL users.

-a--adduser

The new user is allowed to create other users. (Note:
Actually, this makes the new user a superuser. The option is
poorly named.)

-A--no-adduser

The new user is not allowed to create other users (i.e.,
the new user is a regular user, not a superuser). This is
the default.

-d--createdb

The new user is allowed to create databases.

-D--no-createdb

The new user is not allowed to create databases. This is
the default.

-e--echo

Echo the commands that createuser generates and sends to the
server.

-E--encrypted

Encrypts the user's password stored in the database. If
not specified, the default password behavior is used.

-i number--sysid number

Allows you to pick a non-default user ID for the new
user. This is not necessary, but some people like it.

-N--unencrypted

Does not encrypt the user's password stored in the
database. If not specified, the default password behavior
is used.

-P--pwprompt

If given, createuser
will issue a prompt for the password of the new user. This
is not necessary if you do not plan on using password
authentication.

-q--quiet

Do not display a response.

You will be prompted for a name and other missing information
if it is not specified on the command line.

createuser also accepts the
following command-line arguments for connection parameters:

-h host--host host

Specifies the host name of the machine on which the
server is running. If the value begins with a slash, it is
used as the directory for the Unix domain socket.

-p port--port port

Specifies the TCP port or local Unix domain socket file
extension on which the server is listening for
connections.

-U username--username username

User name to connect as (not the user name to
create).

-W--password

Force password prompt (to connect to the server, not for
the password of the new user).

Environment

PGHOSTPGPORTPGUSER

Default connection parameters

Diagnostics

In case of difficulty, see CREATE USER and psql for
discussions of potential problems and error messages. The
database server must be running at the targeted host. Also, any
default connection settings and environment variables used by the
libpq front-end library will
apply.

Examples

To create a user joe on the default
database server:

$ createuser joeIs the new user allowed to create databases? (y/n) nShall the new user be allowed to create more new users? (y/n) nCREATE USER

To create the same user joe using the
server on host eden, port 5000, avoiding
the prompts and taking a look at the underlying command: